Murder, Related Gun Charge Dropped In 2001 Homicide

HAMPTON — Prosecutors dropped a murder charge in a 2001 slaying right before a two-day jury trial was about to begin in Hampton Circuit Court on Thursday.

Edward R. Stewart Jr., 29, of Newport News, was arrested in New Jersey in July 2007 and charged with gunning down Tremone Abramson, 21, on a Hampton street eight years ago.

On Thursday afternoon, hours after charges were dropped, Stewart walked out of Hampton Roads Regional Jail after 17 months in custody, said his attorney, Stephen J. Weisbrod.

Thursday morning, before the trial was set to begin, prosecutors met with two of their key witnesses, both of whom were refusing to cooperate in the case.

"When they came there yesterday morning, they claimed not to remember anything and not to know anything," said Hampton Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney John Haugh. "Obviously all these guys kept their mouths shut for eight years."

Haugh then made a motion to nolle prosse the murder charge and related gun charges, with Circuit Court Judge Wilford Taylor Jr. granting the motion. Under a nolle prosse, the charges are dropped for now but can be brought back if more evidence is found.

"(Prosecutors) were certainly prepared for trial when they got there, and so were we," Weisbrod said, referring to himself and another defense attorney, Karla J. Keener. "They said they wanted to talk with (Abramson's) family about an issue. When the family left upset, I knew right there that they had problems."

Abramson, 23, was killed just after 5 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2001, as he sat in his vehicle at the intersection of Woodland Road and East Pembroke Avenue. Another driver pulled up alongside Abramson, got out and fired several shots into his car.

The prosecution's theory of the case, Weisbrod said, is that Stewart and Abramson had had a prior dispute, with the Stewart shooting Abramson in retaliation for a prior assault. But the defense theory, he said, is that Stewart simply wasn't there.

"He never wavered in that at all," Weisbrod said. "There's no forensic evidence linking Mr. Stewart to the crime. No gun was ever recovered."

Aside from the two witnesses who were no longer cooperating Thursday, two other witnesses wrote letters recanting prior statements they made to police, Weisbrod said.